Essays & Musings
What We’ve Been Thinking About
Thoughts on books, reading, culture, and the literary life.
The Second Half of the First Season of Outlander is almost over. We have thoughts.
May 22, 2015Today AAR’s Melanie–who is all caught up on the show–shares her thoughts about this season of Outlander. She watches the show each week with her sister, Natalie. Here’s their take:…
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Carolyn Crane tells all (OK, some) about Behind the Mask
May 15, 2015I am not going to even bother to pretend I am anything but a Carolyn Crane fan. I have enjoyed the hell out of all four of her Associates books. I…
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Midweek Minis
May 13, 2015This week, in Midweek Minis, three of AAR’s reviewers share short takes on six books. In an effort to make these mini-reviews consistent with our long-form reviews, we’ve added a sensuality rating for each book….
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A Guest Pandora’s Box: Rose Lerner’s Sweet Disorder
May 8, 2015Hello everyone and welcome to the fourth of our AAR blog columns. The basic idea is that we choose a book every month and have a discussion about it. We’re…
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Midweek Minis
April 29, 2015This week, in our new column Midweek Minis, five of AAR’s reviewers share short takes on nine books. We assess five contemps, two historicals (one set in post Restoration London), one steampunk, and…
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A Guest Pandora’s Box: Thoughts on Justified
April 24, 2015Earlier this year, I asked Twitter for suggestions for great TV. Many in the romance community suggested Justified. This show, which just concluded its six series run, stars Timothy Olyphant…
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Midweek Minis: the RITAs, Part Two
April 22, 2015The RITA nominees, the highest awards of distinction in romance fiction, are out. (The entire list is here.) We’ve reviewed many of the books nominated this year. (A list of all…
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Wanted: Love and Death on the Small Screen
April 17, 2015My husband and I just spent a riveted month watching Justified, the FX show starring Timothy Olyphant as a modern day U.S. Marshall in rural Tennessee. I am feverishly counting the…
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Midweek Minis: the RITAs, Part One
April 8, 2015The RITAs, the highest award of distinction in romance fiction, were announced last month. (The entire list is here.) We’ve reviewed many of the books nominated this year. (A list…
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A Guest Pandora’s Box: Carolyn Crane’s Against the Dark
April 6, 2015Hello everyone and welcome to the third of our AAR blog columns. The basic idea is that we’re going to choose a book every month and have a discussion about…
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a guest post and a giveaway from USA Today best-selling author Jessica Scott: The Military Hero in Romance
March 30, 2015I am fortunate to know, in real life, author Jessica Scott. She’s part of the fabulous romance community in my area and we’ve gotten to know each other over the…
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an interview with author Jo Goodman
March 27, 2015Jo Goodman has been writing romance novels for over thirty years. Six of her books have been Desert Island Keepers here at AAR. Many of her historical romances have been…
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